Bill Haas / Getty ImagesLet's be honest, we're all incredibly busy. Nobody has time to sit down and watch four rounds of golf each week -- unless, of course, you watch TV for a living, and if that's the case, please email us your number. So in an effort to condense the tournament coverage for you into a few quick hits, here are five things we learned from the Northern Trust Open.

Phil Mickelson is still Phil Mickelson — One week after we wondered aloud if this was the start of a special year for Phil, we got our answer in the form of a final round roller coaster ride at the Northern Trust Open that had a little bit of everything. The 25-footer on the 72nd hole proved Mickelson has the mojo going with the putter, but the erratic driver and missed birdie opportunity on the 16th hole on Sunday made you realize that even though this very well could turn into a career-defining season for Lefty, he's still ... well, he's still "Phil the Thrill". That persona, while great for golf, is going to cost him tournaments from time to time.

The playoff drama continues — A year after the tour set a record with 18 playoffs in 2011, the extra-hole drama continued at Riviera with one of the best playoffs we've seen in some time. Why was it so good, you ask? Because the star power was on display at a high-profile event. No offense to a lot of the playoff that went on last season, but none of them had the Rookie of the Year, FexCup Cup (and Tour Championship) winner, and a future Hall of Famer in a three-man playoff. Most golf fans care about the drama on the course, but what makes these extra-hole affairs special is when you have some recognizable names. Phil, Keegan and Bill all produced, and while only one guy could come out on top, CBS got one heck of a playoff finish thanks to the big guns.

Sergio Garcia is making a comeback — Remember when a lot of us wrote Sergio off and said he'd never win a major in his career? Well, we may want to decide how we want our crow prepared. He still seems to have some kinks to figure out, but the Spaniard has certainly found his floundering golf game over the last four months. Following two wins late in 2011 on the European Tour, Garcia opened this year with two top-15 finishes in Europe, and then followed up the good form with a T-4 at Riviera. The week included a 7-under 64 on Sunday -- including a ridiculous 30 on the back nine -- highlighted by two eagles and 24 putts, proving once again that when he gets it going, Garcia is still one of the best in the game.

This one's worth watching again, unless you're a Mickelson fan: the Northern Trust Open's final round, in which Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley held onto the lead until the final two holes. Bill Haas swooped in and appeared to vulture away the win, but no! If you don't know how it already turned out, shame on you, but watch it anyway. Best tournament of the year so far.

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When the TV cameras approached him on the way to the practice range, Bill Haas, in the clubhouse with a one-stroke lead on the field at the Northern Trust Open, said the right things.

"Keegan and Phil are going to birdie 18, and we're going to a playoff," he smiled. You have to say those kinds of things when the tournament's not nailed down; to say This one's in the bag; no way those guys are going to get anything below par on that brute would only invite the wrath of the golf gods.

Perhaps Haas thought it a little too loudly, however, because sure enough, both Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley holed brutally long birdie putts, only the seventh and eighth on the day at that hole, to force a playoff. That set up one of the best three-man shootouts in recent memory: one of the world's marquee players versus the reigning FedEx Cup and PGA Championship winners.

[Related: Leading man Phil Mickelson falls to supporting actor Bill Haas]

It was like the three-man Mexican standoff in "The

PGA Championship champion Keegan Bradley reeled off a five-under round to tie up Phil Mickelson at the top of the leaderboard, with several other players just a stroke back. Going to be a good final day at Riviera; can Phil make it two in a row? We shall see.

On most days, taking a golf ball in the pants is hazardous to your health and not recommended. But every once in awhile, it turns out to be good luck. Read on!

Phil Mickelson's tee shot on 15 at Riviera Country Club for the Northern Trust Open drifted left. Way left, so far left that it caromed off a tree and ended up in the gallery. Ah, but where in the gallery, you ask? Somehow, like all good things eventually do, it ended up in someone's pants:

Here's a question: how exactly does a golf ball end up in somebody's pants? Best-case scenario: it rebounded off the ground and caromed up his pant leg. Worst-case? The fan saw an opportunity and put it there himself. Thankfully, no incriminating video has yet surfaced.

[ Related: Why golf is the best spectator sport ]

Fortunately for the fan, Mickelson didn't actually swing away while said ball was still lodged in said shorts. And fortunately for Mickelson, the pants-related malfunction didn't hurt his scorecard; he still recorded a par on

'Twas a lovely Friday at Riviera, and many of the players responded. Joe Ogilvie hit his 10th career ace, not all in this round, while Phil Mickelson held onto a one-stroke lead following an exceptional eagle. The tourney continues on Saturday, but you could have guessed that, couldn't you?

One of the great things about Phil Mickelson is his unpredictability. You never know from one round to the next if he's going to string together five or six birdies, or eagle a hole and then double the next two. It's part of what makes him one of golf's most intriguing players.

But for some reason, Phil decided to go away from the erratic play for the last couple of rounds, stringing together 49 holes without a bogey before picking one up on the 15th hole on Thursday at the Northern Trust Open. You had to wonder if Mickelson's erratic alter ego would show up at some point this week -- and it certainly did over the final three holes on Friday.

[ Video: Second-round recap ] | [ Scores ]

After bogeying the par-4 seventh hole, Mickelson came right back and holed out for eagle on the very next hole from 112 yards, spinning the shot back to the right before it disappeared into the hole. He finished the round up with a bogey on the ninth for a bogey-eagle-bogey finish, but that's the kind of golf you expect from Lefty.

He's currently one shot ahead of everyone else and looks primed to win back-to-back tournaments. And if he keeps holing wedges like that, you'd have to like his chances of picking up his third Northern Trust Open title on Sunday.

Bubba and The General / Via @bubbawatsonThe Confederate flag dots every NASCAR infield, but at least in one location, it's not welcome on the track.

Bubba Watson owns one of the original General Lee cars, which he won at auction last month. Watson's also a close enough friend of driver Denny Hamlin that he's invited Hamlin to caddy for him at Augusta in April. And Watson, a Phoenix resident, wants to drive his new purchase around Phoenix International Raceway when Hamlin and the rest of NASCAR head there next month.

Alas, it's not to be. Watson, the honorary grand marshal, won't be permitted to drive the General Lee on the track. In other words, NASCAR did what Boss Hogg couldn't: